Philippe Clement reveals his Rangers surprise over Ibrox cock-up and the vital Hampden guarantees he sought

Chairman John Bennett has issued an apology to the Rangers support for the Copland construction cock-up - but admits he still doesn’t know how long the club’s Ibrox exile will last.

The Gers chief held his hands up after confirming he is in the final stages of talks with the SFA to rent out Hampden while they are locked out of their own stadium. A delayed steel shipment has forced multi-million pound upgrade works on disabled facilities to be put on hold - putting the entire ground out of commission. Bennett initially thought he would only have to look for alternative accommodation for the first month of the season.

But Record Sport revealed last week that it could be October before Philippe Clement’s side are allowed to return home. That sparked another furious response from fans, who have demanded answers from the club’s top brass since news of the shipment delay broke last month. Now Bennett has finally put his head above the parapet after issuing a statement.

It said: “First I’d like to apologise on behalf of the club for the uncertainty that this delayed project has caused to our season ticket holders, hospitality clients, partners and the wider support of this football club. The number of variables in this situation has made it extremely difficult to bring the one thing we all crave – certainty.

“Nevertheless, we are closing in on the most immediate solution - a suitable venue at which to fulfil our fixtures and house our support. While the ongoing delay means that the club is unable to fix a date for our return to Ibrox, we anticipate that this will become clearer upon delivery of the necessary materials to Glasgow.

“Rangers thanks the Scottish FA and the SPFL for their strong support in working to this solution. The club wholeheartedly appreciates the continued patience of our supporters while we work through this most trying of situations. I intend to give a fuller, personal update by the end of July.”

Clement admits he was left stunned by the news of the stadium fiasco. But the Ibrox boss is adamant he won’t allow his squad to use it as an excuse for a sloppy start to the season.

Clement has taken his team to the Netherlands this week as they gear up for a huge August schedule. They host Motherwell in their first home game on August 10, while Ross County are due in Glasgow a fortnight later - just eight days before the season’s first Old Firm derby showdown at Parkhead.

Rangers also face having to shift their vitally important Champions League qualifiers to the National Stadium. But Clement has told his team he won’t tolerate sulking over the stadium switch.

Speaking from the club’s training base near Venlo, the Belgian gaffer said: “Of course, at the first moment you are surprised about that and it is not the ideal situation. But that’s our life.

“You always need to adapt, there is no use having bad thoughts or keep thinking about things you cannot change. It’s something everyone is working hard on to get us back to Ibrox as quickly as possible.

“It’s a thing the club did for our disabled fans and our other fans to make things better in the stadium. With the shipment? You don’t have control of that and I don’t have the precise details.

“It’s not important. What’s important is when we are back there. It’s not totally clear yet but we are getting towards a solution and that is the most important thing.

“If you live looking for excuses you will never get success. It’s easy in life to find excuses when you’re not successful. That’s the easiest thing. To have success, along the way there are difficulties and there are problems. There are situations where you think, ‘what is this?’

“Part of life is to solve problems. People only see success at the end, they don’t see the path. And the path always has obstacles. We need to take it like that and make the best out of it.”

Murrayfield was initially floated as the preferred venue on the understanding that the Hampden pitch was set to go upgrade work after hosting two sell-out concerts by popstar P!nk. But SFA chiefs have agreed to delay those works - sparing the Gers support a 50-mile trek along the M8 to Edinburgh and the home of Scottish rugby.

“We also think about the fans and we try to find solutions that make the least inconvenience for them - that’s a priority,” added Clement. “We could have played in a big stadium in England, but then it’s really difficult for the fans to get there. We want them to be there, they are super important for us.”

Clement confirmed he was consulted by Bennett before the club opted for Hampden amid concerns over the pitch. He said: “We talked about the pitch, but the fans are the priority. We need to have certain guarantees around the pitch, if not we need a back up plan if it’s not good enough. You need a good pitch to play football.”